Hair tends to be excessively dry because it is always exposed to sunlight and cannot avoid the influence of ultraviolet rays, heat and drying. Daily shampooing, brushing and blow-drying also have an adverse influence. It has been elucidated that hair damage such as loss of luster or hair dryness due to blow-drying after shampooing occurs because a hollow comes out inside the hair by the heat from a drier. In recent years, it has been common to enjoy changing the appearance of hair freely such as changing hair color (coloring) and changing hair style (permanent waving) so that coloring and permanent waving have been carried out with increased frequency. The hair subjected to coloring treatment or permanent waving treatment is said to become hollow due to chemical influence of a hair dye or permanent waving agent used for the treatment. In addition, daily hair care routine (shampooing, finger combing, and brushing) continues to impose a small strain to the hair, whereby cracks, voids, cleavages, cuts or the like grow inside the hair.
Various attempts have therefore been made to repair hair damage. For the purpose of repairing or preventing hair damage and providing hair with an excellent feel, there are proposed, for example, a hair cosmetic composition using a specific amine compound or salt thereof, a higher alcohol, and an organic solvent in combination (JP-A-2003-81780 and JP-A-2004-67534) and a hair cosmetic composition containing a branched fatty acid (JP-A-4-173719 corresponding to EP-0483689 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,649).
However, these hair cosmetic compositions cannot satisfactorily provide a good feel to the heavily damaged hair caused by repetition of coloring or other treatments. Also they cannot satisfactorily repair or prevent fatigue failure of hair such as split ends or breakage. In addition, they cannot reduce crunch of hair during shampooing.